LONDON: More than 160 NGOs, civil society groups and trade unions have urged the EU to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.

The appeal came in a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She was urged to take action to ensure that Europe complies with international law by ending its support for Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.

It comes amid renewed international attention on the Palestinian question in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire.

Palestinians “continue suffering” in the enclave despite the “fragile” ceasefire, while in the West Bank Israeli authorities have “expanded their illegal settlements and intensified their repression of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said.

EU member states have repeatedly condemned Israeli settlements through unanimous voting. Two rounds of targeted sanctions against Israeli settlers were also launched by the bloc.

Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation is illegal, and called for the dismantling of settlements.

States have an obligation to prevent trade “that assists in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the court said.

Existing EU policies breach this obligation, groups said in the letter, warning that goods exported from Israeli settlements are not excluded from entering the European market.

HRW said: “Amid sharp divisions, the EU has been unable to adopt measures that respond to Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide in Gaza.

“But the bloc should at least be coherent with its own statements, and live up to its obligations under international law, by banning trade and business with settlements, which are inexorably linked to egregious rights abuses.”